Sebastien Ogier moved 11s closer to Jari-Matti Latvala on the grueling 59km ‘Monte Lerno 1’ stage after the engine temperature in the Finn’s Polo climbed to worrying levels in the Sardinian heat. He was forced to back off in a bid to save his rally. “The temperature went up to 132 degrees (Celsius),” he explained. […]
Saturday’s opening loop of stages included the single biggest test on the Rally Italia Sardegna route. After the relatively short run through the 19.27km ‘Monte Olia 1’ test, the crews’ attentions turned to the gruelling 59.13km ‘Monte Lerno 1’ stage. It’s the longest on the 2014 WRC calendar and the home of the spectacular ‘Micky’s […]
The afternoon’s stages were a re-run of the four that conspired to turn the leaderboard upside down when they were run as the morning loop.Martin Prokop’s good run in the morning faltered on SS6 as he was overhauled by Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Ogier who moved into third and fourth places respectively. The VW Motorsport […]
Rally leader Thierry Neuville was cool, calm and collected in SS4. But in SS5, things unraveled spectacularly. The Hyundai driver stopped 4.1km into the 27.30km ‘Loelle 1’ stage and spent an eternity working on a mechanical problem that had struck his i20 WRC. He did eventually get to the end of the stage, but he […]
The M-Sport Ford Fiesta Duo of Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lethinen came to a spectacular fiery end this morning when their car caught fire on the way to stage 4.The M-Sport World Rally Team duo were looking to progress from their sixth place overall at the 20.29km ‘Coiluna-Crastazza 1’ stage, but after stopping to change […]
Mark Higgins has beaten his Isle of Man production car record in a new Subaru WRX Sti by averageing 116 mph.The suspension of the Subaru was modified to withstand the bumps and jumps of the Isle of Man course Subaru has set a new record for the fastest production car around the Isle of Man […]
A little over a week remains until the start of this year’s 24 Heures du Mans. Last weekend’s test day on the 13.629km Circuit de la Sarthe enabled most of the 56 competing teams to hone their preparations for motor sport’s most famous endurance race.No 24 Heures du Mans is ever banal, but this year’s […]
TOYOTA Racing is fully prepared as it heads to the Circuit de la Sarthe aiming to win the Le Mans 24 Hours (14-15 June), the highlight of the FIA World Endurance Championship season. Two previous visits to Le Mans have seen impressive progress which culminated in last year’s second place, but with the 1,000PS TS040 […]
A former Formula 1 doctor warns there likely won’t be any good news on Michael Schumacher’s condition. The racing legend suffered a serious head injury while skiing in France on December 29, and though it appeared at one stage there would be positive news from the gradual process of waking him from his coma, there […]
The duel for the overall lead in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) is once again Polo R WRC against Polo R WRC at round six of the WRC. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila line up at the Rally Italy, from June 5 to 8, each with the goal of improving their position […]
SUBARU RALLY Team USA’s David Higgins and Craig Drew dominated the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR), the fourth round of the Rally America National Championship, on May 30-31 in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. It is the third overall victory for the team this season to widen their Rally America points standings lead. Higgins and Drew won all […]
SEBASTIAN VETTEL says Formula 1 could be in for a wild ride this weekend in Canada due to the “high risk” nature of the circuit.The Montreal track is known for yielding action-packed grands prix with the Wall of Champions one its well-known obstacles.The Wall has caught out many drivers including Vettel, although he has only […]
THE WTCC, the first FIA World Championship to stage an event in Russia, is back at the Moscow Raceway. 80 km west of the Russian capital, this 3,931 m track combines long straights with technically demanding sequences of twists and turns. “Although there are some opportunities for overtaking, it’s more like the Hungaroring than the […]
Marc Marquez is riding towards a special place in bike racing history according to America’s own bike legend Fast Freddie Spencer, a history maker in his own right. Spencer held the crown of youngest ever MotoGP world champion for three decades until Marquez came along in 2013 with his stunning rookie season title. And, in […]
IN A STEP WHICH might quickly be mirrored in other motorsport disciplines, a key Touring Car series is moving to daily alcohol checks on drivers and officials. Mandatory breath-testing will now take place on every day at every British Touring Car Championship event, to ensure that all competing drivers and senior championship officials are free […]
MOVISTAR YAMAHA MotoGP returns to Italy for Valentino Rossi’s first home race of the year, the Gran Premio d’Italia this Sunday at the Mugello circuit in Tuscany. The race is also a home Grand Prix for the team itself, being based alongside the historic Monza circuit in Gerno di Lesmo. Rossi prepares to entertain his […]
DEFENDING Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet) passed Matt Kenseth with nine laps to go and won the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night for his first victory of the season.Johnson was dominant at Charlotte Motor Speedway, winning the pole Thursday night and leading 165 of 400 laps in NASCAR’s longest race. Kevin Harvick was second, […]
A RECORD number of cars descended on the Kent-based circuit over the weekend including 37 flame-spitting Supercars, and a full class of TouringCar and Super1600 cars plus the supporting RX Lites Cup. Wildcard entrants Tanner Foust – a two-time Formula Drift Champion – and reigning British Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan were also part of […]
SOME SAID that now they knew where the tough spots were they knew how to get around them so perhaps today might be easier. Nope. Three cars finished the 3rd lap and only one made it around the 4th… With only 4km done yesterday America’s Levi Shirley hoped to do a lot more today to […]
YAZEED PUSHED today to keep Nasser behind him. ‘It was easy today to be clever,’ he said. ‘When I saw his dust in the last 50 kilometers I knew our plan would work.’ With Yazeeds 1st place also his team wins, after three races in a row in the desert and a lot of work […]
SOME PEOPLE made it even more of a challenge for themselves. Rob Butler of Off-Road Armoury and Levi Shirley from the Lucky Dog Racing team all the way from Kansas, USA had an intense build of their two stunning new Euro Fighters. Things were so tight that they missed the prologue as they were still […]
WORLDCUP leader Vladimir Vasilyev today suffered another blow, losing not only the turbopressure in his engine but also the stage ánd his position in the Worldcup as he will not be able to finish on the podium of the Pharaons Rally. Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar move up one place in the overall ranking […]
TODAY WAS a fast and friendly stage through the mountains, allowing the competitors to recuperate after the heat they had yesterday. With the emotions from yesterday still very alive the teams were happy todays roadbook was much easier. ‘It is not a bad thing to have a difficult stage,’ Organiser Abdelhamid Abouyoussef said. ‘There has […]
THE FIRST CAR to leave the start ramp at the RallyStar Driving Academy near Bapsfontein will be the Ford Dealer Team Fiesta of defending champions Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton. They will be followed by current championship leaders Leeroy Poulter/Elvéne Coetzee (Castrol Team Toyota Yaris), the visiting Dutch/Belgian duo of Hans Weijs Jnr and Bjorn […]
RICHARDS says a more internet-based approach is vital to take the WRC forward.“The strategy I was ready to pursue 10 years ago was to really drive the internet,” Richards told MN. “Convention says for a promoter that you produce a television show which is very expensive to make in TV quality terms. You try to […]
THE OUTING will not be Ogier’s first venture onto the race track, as the Frenchman contested the Porsche Supercup event supporting last year’s Monaco Grand Prix. However, this time around, the current WRC leader will swap his Volkswagen Polo R WRC – with approximately 315bhp – for an Audi that has well over 550bhp on […]
ON THE STRENGHT of his strong performances in the opening rounds of the European Le Mans Series, McMurry will be joining Chris Dyson and Tom Kimber-Smith in the #41 Greaves Motorsport LM P2 Zytek-Nissan at the French classic. The inaugural Dyson Junior Development Program driver scored fourth-place finishes at both Silverstone in April and this […]
HE HAS AN eight point lead in the overall title chase over Class B leader Darren Nathan (Sex Trader Polo) with Elke van Vledder in her Class C Golf a further 13 points back. The fight for third in the overall log is a closely contested affair. Waldie Meintjies (Performance Masters / Marty’s Body & […]
JUAN CARLOS Salvatierra claimed his victory with his Speedbrain 450, but today was not about winning but about surviving. With temperatures way over 45 degrees the riders could only hope to stay concentrated on their bikes. Stefano Turchi managed to finish on his KTM 690, together with his teammembers. ‘After the refueling we decided to […]
Top names have entered historic event LYDDEN HILL is steeped in rallycross history: the sport’s inaugural race was staged at the track back in 1967. Introduced by Robert Reed – who was a producer on ITV’s World of Sport programme at the time – the sport quickly grew to become a staple on TV in […]
Maybe Red Bull might (win) in Monaco LEWIS HAMILTON, however, who has won the last four grands prix on the trot, warned that the W05 will once again be difficult to beat even on the tight, twisty streets, where even the main ‘straight’ is not straight. “Things should close up as there are not really […]
Navigation causes some problems ONLY AFTER the first 100 kilometers through canyons and mountains the stage opened up. With a great view the route decended to the riverdelta of the Nile. ‘The beginning of the stage is tough because one mistake means you end up in the wrong canyon,’ organizer Abdelhamid Abouyoussef says. ‘The only […]
R5 cars make their first appearance ALSO back for his first outing since the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo is Slovakian Jaroslav Melicharek who will drive a Fiesta RS. The WRC 2 category features its strongest entry of the season with 26 crews lined up, including the top four in the standings – Yuriy Protasov, Lorenzo Bertelli, […]
Unpredictable conditions Scribante posted a record time of 41.811 seconds on Friday and then raised the stakes to finish in 41.159 seconds on Sunday – not only setting a new record but also making history as the only competitor to win both the Classic Conqueror and King of the Hill titles. Saturday morning a wet […]
Tough competition from the start The prologue near the beach of El Gouna was a short track on gravel and salt, with wet patches from the last high tide. Long curves made it fun to drive, drifting from one side to the other and entertaining the spectators with a spectacular driving style. The competition amoung […]
Marques happy with new Honda contract LEADING THE standings with a 100% record so far this season and having this week renewed his contract with HRC until the end of 2016, Marquez was the first rider to speak. The Repsol Honda man commented: “I’m really happy about the situation and the new contract with Honda, […]
Mutual Understanding IN 2012 they also paired up in Volkswagen Motorsport’s learning year in the WRC, which both team and driver contested in a Škoda Fabia S2000. Andreas Mikkelsen and his previous co-driver, who currently find themselves third in the Drivers’ Championship behind the Volkswagen duos of Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) and Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), […]
Largest field in 110 year history The Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb, also known as the Climb to the Clouds, was first run in 1904 as part of the famous Glidden Tour and serves as one of North America’s oldest motorsports events. Following a 3-year hiatus, the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will be a 3-day […]
Indianapolis 500 entry list includes six former winners THE FORMER Indy 500 champions entered include Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Hélio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya of Team Penske, Buddy Lazier of Lazier Partners Racing and Jacques Villeneuve of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Castroneves is a three-time winner of the race, […]